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Discussions Torah

Deuteronomy 29:9–31:30: Hungry to get close to God?

We don’t have to go to Heaven ourselves to learn God’s Law; we don’t have to die to keep it. God’s Law is so close to us, we can taste it. That’s a key lesson in the dual Torah reading נִצָּבִים Nitzavim (“standing,” Deuteronomy 29:9–30:20) and וַיֵּלֶךְ Vayelech (“he went,” Deuteronomy 31:1–30).

The book of Deuteronomy applies to us, regardless of where we come from, whether we are born Israelites or grafted into Israel (Romans 11).

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Discussions Torah

Deuteronomy 30-31: Prelude to the Song of Moshe

Revelation fortells of a time when those who trust completely in God and aren’t fooled by the beast, his image and the number of his name will sing “the song of Moses” and “the song of the Lamb” (Rev. 15:2–4).

We know of the “song of the Lamb” from Revelation 5. There’s the “song of Moshe” in Exodus 15 just after God saves Israel and destroys the Egyptian army in the Red Sea. There’s also another “song” of Moshe in Deuteronomy 32, and understanding it helps us understand apostle Paul’s terms “under [the] law” and “under grace.”

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Discussions Torah

Deuteronomy 30: Bringing the nations near God so they can ‘choose life’

The Law of the LORD, or Torah, is as difficult to follow and indecipherable as we make it — simply, choose the lifestyle that leads to life. The LORD over time aligns our emotions, desires and reason in that direction.